Soybeans were modestly higher on commercial and technical buying. Contracts are oversold, crush margins are in positive territory, and soybean oil was higher following crude oil. Soybean meal was down on the adjustment of product spreads. U.S. planting made a solid advance in the past week, now just 1% behind the five-year average pace. China bought 132,000 tons of U.S. beans, half for this marketing year, half for next. The […]
A farmer in southeast Iowa went out of his way to offset the cost of cover crop termination. Mark Jackson of Oskaloosa tells Brownfield he pre-purchased herbicide knowing prices were climbing. “We bought glyphosate way back last August seeing the handwriting on the wall of what the increased costs were.” He also changed some of his cover crop mixes. “Instead of using rye or some of those cover crops that […]
The Biden administration has announced its framework to transform the country’s food system. During an event at Georgetown University on Wednesday, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack detailed more than $2 billion in funding to improve markets. “The transformation that needs to take place has to be comprehensive,” Vilsack said. “It has to touch on all elements of our food system: production, processing, distribution and aggregation, and market development.” He says the […]
The US Cotton Trust Protocol has implemented a more streamlined and efficient enrollment process. Under the updated program, growers would be enrolled for three years, the 2022 to 2024 crops, and be able to enter the supply chain sooner. The new process allows growers to complete all requirements in one sitting and will also allow production by participating growers to be more easily identified and uploaded into the Protocol platform. […]
A recent study shows a proposed pipeline that would transport carbon across five Midwestern states could add nearly $4 billion to the economy. “This project is about the future of agriculture and ethanol.” Jake Ketzner with Summit Carbon Solutions tells Brownfield farmers in Nebraska, Iowa, North and South Dakota will be able to sell corn at higher values to 32 ethanol plants who sequester carbon at a site in North […]
Domestic corn for ethanol use and soybean crush demand during April declined slightly from March due to tighter supplies and seasonal facility maintenance, but held above year ago levels. The USDA says 414.731 million bushels of corn were used for ethanol production in April, a decrease of 9% on the month, but an increase of 2% on the year, while production of distillers dried grains with solubles was 1,704,698 tons, […]
Milk futures and cash dairy prices were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Wednesday. May Class III milk was unchanged at $25.20. June closed down $0.12 at $24.45. July closed up $0.01 at $24.70. August was up $0.02 at $24.45. September through March contracts ranged from six to twenty-eight cents higher. Dry whey was up $.0275 at $.55. No sales were recorded. Cheese Blocks closed Wednesday’s trade unchanged at $2.2475. […]
A group of Republican Senators is asking the United States Trade Representative to secure and stabilize global fertilizer trade. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Nebraska’s Deb Fischer and Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley of Iowa recently sent a letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai asking her to develop and execute a plan that would find alternative suppliers. The group says trading with Russia, China and Belarus is unreliable and it has added […]
An ag economist says barriers to electric vehicle adoption by ag producers and rural residents are shrinking but issues remain. The University of Missouri’s Ben Brown said there’s growing access to charging stations. “I was in Lone Jack, Missouri, which is a small town in western Missouri, and they had Tesla charging stations,” he said. “We have one in my hometown of Appleton City of 1,000 people. So, it’s a […]
